Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in body fat distribution between normal and obese subjects and the relationship between risk factors(fasting blood sugar, blood pressure. fasting serum lipids) and obesity. Measurements of height. weight, skinfold thickness. body circumference. percent body fat. blood pressure, fasting blood sugar and serum lipids were made and a dietary survey was performed on 120(Males 61. Females 59) adult subjects. 1) Among the female subjects, the obese group appeared to have significantly higher centrality of body fat than the normal group. Obese groups of both sexes appeared with higher blood pressure than normal groups. No differences in daily average nutrient intake, fasting blood sugar and fasting serum lipids concentrations were observed between obese and normal groups. 2) In males. the serum triglyceride concentration was observed to have a significantly positive correlation to body weight, body mass index and body circumference, additionally concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were observed to have significantly positive correlations to the skinfold thickness. but the ratio of HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol was observed to be significantly negatively correlated to the skinfold thickness. 3) In females. the obese group consumed about 47% of total energy intake at lunch. whereas the normal group consumed about 29% . The food habit score of males appeared to be negatively related to body weight, percent ideal body weight. But the food habit score of females appeared to be negatively related to percent body fat(r=-0.32, p<0.05) .

Keywords

• obesity;
• body fat distribution;
• risk factors.